Interview with Evan Warner Why are you concentrating on braking data?
Val di Sole is rough on braking. We’re going to try putting on one of the Quarq units with the Quarq Qollector on Ceciles’s bike. It's going to provide some data for us on brake forces, and we’ll see how our brakes in general, react to this track. There has been a lot of discussion around the pits, this weekend in particular, about how riders use their brakes – mainly, subconsciously dragging the brakes. That is something that teams are sort of focusing upon, with times getting really tight.
Isn't that something that nearly every rider does?
This season has been up and down, and overall points are tight. I think everybody is looking for points where they can make up the most time and this subconscious kind of brake drag is something we can measure, and try to equate this to losing X amount of seconds to something that riders do, maybe not on purpose.
Quarq just showed up with a data collection system for braking?
The partnership with Quarq is amazing. Those guys are brilliant, and definitely coming out with stuff that, ideally, will help us across all disciplines, but I think, for now, the downhill here, and the brake focus at Val di Sole is a good place to try it. So, we'll give it a shot.
So, that Qollector beams data directly to Colorado Springs?
(Laughs) We should. We are trying to focus real heavily on the brakes that we're using - even tire pressure and the tires were running - to try to get a as accurate and as specific as we can in order to compile all this data into usable stuff that, moving forward, we can learn from and keep trying to help our World Cup athletes go faster.
Oh I better slow down, i'm going too fast?
Oh I better try harder than I already am?
"fk, I just hit 1500watts sprinting out of that orner, I better relax for 2 mins so I can sprint faster than Gee for the last 100m"
TL;DR: pun.